Jaisalmer: Former minister Hemaram Chaudhary, 75, spent Sunday night sleeping outdoors with a blanket as he joined locals in Dhorimana on a sit-in protest against altering of district boundaries that have moved Gudamalani and Dhorimana from Barmer to Balotra district.On Monday, Chaudhary and other protesters took out a foot march from the protest venue to the SDM’s office, where they submitted a memorandum demanding that the decision be reconsidered. After submitting the memorandum, they returned to the protest site and continued the sit-in.The Rajasthan govt in a notification dated Dec 31, which surfaced in the media on the night of Jan 2, reorganised district boundaries with Dhorimana and Gudamalani shifted from Barmer to Balotra district and Baytoo moved back into Barmer district. Congress workers opposed the move, while BJP workers welcomed it. In a social media post, Chaudhary described the decision as anti-people. He said the issue was not about boundaries but about access to essential services. He said the reorganisation would force residents to travel long distances for revenue, administrative, police and court-related work. Congress’s Baytoo MLA Harish Chaudhary addressed a press conference Monday to oppose what he called caste-based decisions in district reorganisation. He said such actions went against the social traditions of Thar region and alleged that public sentiments were ignored in imposing the decision.Chaudhary said minister KK Vishnoi was publicly taking credit for the decision, but people of Dhorimana and Gudamalani were protesting democratically against the govt’s diktat.
